


Forgive to Forget

by little0bird



Series: Stolen Time [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 19:58:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19730734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little0bird/pseuds/little0bird





	Forgive to Forget

Gone was the laughing, smiling boy of their youth. In his place was a bent, wizened, elderly man. It had startled Albus to see Gellert as an old man, but he mused to himself that it must equally startle Gellert to see him like this, his once-vibrant auburn hair gone silver with age.

Albus yearned to close the chasm between them. To forgive Gellert for everything. But he could still see the surprised, yet strangely blank, expression on his sister's face as she fell to the floor. To this day, Albus still didn't know exactly who had killed her. He couldn't forgive Gellert for destroying his illusions – mostly because it had colored the way he dealt with people. He had willfully attempted to maintain people's illusions of themselves to the point of nearly causing harm. It had nearly killed Harry when he was fifteen, because Albus had been so unwilling to pull down the carefully constructed delusion that all was well for Harry's sake.

Forgiveness was not something that came easily to Albus.

Even now.

Slowly, painfully, Albus closed his eyes to the one person he'd loved with total abandon and turned away. He couldn't do it.

Not yet.


End file.
